advanced reading copy of ADOPTING GRACE
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with things is most often quite direct and efficient. A kick, a punch, and then usually approximately two minutes later, back to the task at hand, and all are still friends. It is most often over and done just like that. There are historical and understandable reasons that females are unaccustomed to communicating in an assertive and direct voice. We have learned through the generations to try and get the things we want by using more indirect routes. Sometimes passive-aggressive means, as well as charm and manipulation, have served us well in a male-centric society. Finding our healthy, assertive voice is a challenge. As a mom of girls, one thing I wasn’t prepared for was the heart drop I feel when my own daughter is the victim of girl snarkiness. All of the girls involved in this particular story are talented and often kind-hearted kids. There is mean girl potential within us all. It was a beautiful day, and there was a great deal of excitement in the air over a school sponsored 5K race. My daughter had attended practices for this event and was quite certain that she had her running buddies all lined up. On race day, the young runners gathered and made last minute plans with friends to run alongside each other. Three times I watched my daughter reach out to another, and three times she was rejected on some level. After each rejection, her shoulders slumped and her face was crestfallen. It was quite painful to watch, from afar and up close. I first felt a bit paralyzed. In late elementary school, we were well past the point where it is ADOPTING GRACE ADVANCED READING COPY 123